Game Design

(This article has also been published on Gamasutra. Check it out for insightful comments.) 1. Introduction At Gamelogic we are obsessed with game rules. Several weeks ago my colleague Herman Tulleken and I began building a match game tool. We played and analyzed many match games to deconstruct their mechanics. In this […]

Match Game Mechanics: An exhaustive survey

3 Mar, 2015 in Game Design by Jonathan Bailey

This article gives more handy tips for designing a platformer. There are tips for movement on ladders and veins, jumping, ledges and platforms, the camera, interface, and other ways to make a fun game.

13 More Tips for Making a Fun Platformer

19 Jul, 2012 in Development / Game Design / Platform Game Design tagged camera / controls / platform game / user interface by Diorgo Jonkers

Loopholes: what they are, how to find them, how to fix them, and a big list of generic loopholes in games.

Loopholes in Game Design

7 May, 2012 in Game Design tagged design / exploits / game design / loopholes by Julian Pritchard

In a previous article, we looked at the diegesis theory of interface design. The theory can also be applied to audio design. This is a look into the design of audio for games, and how diegesis theory can help us structure our thoughts.

Video Game Audio: Diegesis Theory

19 Apr, 2012 in Game Design / Sound tagged audio / diegesis / fourth wall / game design / sound by Dave Russell

This article looks at the process of designing levels for a platformer: from the initial idea to the final playable level.

How to design levels for a platformer

4 Jul, 2011 in Development / Game Design / Platform Game Design tagged deisgm process / level game design / platform game design by Diorgo Jonkers

A distillation of the five puzzle game design interviews, taking together advice from Rob Jagnow, Guy Lima, Ted Lauterbach, Teddy Lee, Dave Hall and Teddy Lee.

How Are Puzzle Games Designed? (Conclusion)

4 Jun, 2011 in Development / Game Design / Puzzle Game Design tagged difficulty / level design / playtesting / progression / puzzle game design by Herman Tulleken

Teddy Lee (maker of My First First Quantum Translocater and other popular Flash games) gives us his take on puzzle game design.

How are puzzle games designed? Teddy Lee

23 May, 2011 in Development / Game Design / Interviews / Puzzle Game Design tagged level design / my first quantum translocator / puzzle game design / teddy lee by Dev.Mag

In this puzzle game design interview, Dave Hall from Toxic Games tells Dev.Mag how they designed the puzzles for Q.U.B.E.

How are puzzle games designed? Dave Hall

16 May, 2011 in Development / Game Design / Interviews / Puzzle Game Design tagged dave hall / level design / puzzle game design / qube by Van Wyk Louw

Ted Lauterbach, creator of the eerie puzzle game, suteF, answers our questions about puzzle game design.

How are puzzle games designed? Ted Lauterbach

9 May, 2011 in Development / Game Design / Interviews / Puzzle Game Design tagged level design / puzzle game design / sutef / ted lauterbach by Dev.Mag

Dev.Mag talks to Guy Lima, one of the founders of Ragtime Games, on how he and his team designed the puzzles for Continuity, the sliding-tile platform puzzler.

How are puzzle games designed? Guy Lima

2 May, 2011 in Development / Game Design / Interviews / Puzzle Game Design tagged continuity / guy lima / puzzle game design / ragtime games by Herman Tulleken

As part of our series of interviews on puzzle game design, we asked Rob Jagnow about his approach. Jagnow is the founder of Lazy 8 Studios, and the designer behind Cogs, the steampunk-themed sliding-tile puzzle game.

How are puzzle games designed? Rob Jagnow

26 Apr, 2011 in Development / Game Design / Interviews / Puzzle Game Design tagged cogs / puzzle game design / rob jagnow by Dev.Mag

This article gives some background information on puzzle games, and sets the stage for a set of interviews on puzzle game design.

How are puzzle games designed? (Introduction)

16 Apr, 2011 in Development / Game Design / Puzzle Game Design tagged level design / puzzle game design / puzzle game hisotry by Herman Tulleken

In this second part of analyzing Desktop Dungeons, we look at how choices are given meaning not only through their complexity, but also through the role they play in structuring an experience.

Desktop Dungeons: Design Analysis (Part 2)

23 Mar, 2011 in Development / Game Design / Role Playing Game Design tagged desktop dungeons / game design / management / narrative / qcf design by Herman Tulleken

This is the first part of an in-depth look at the design of Desktop Dungeons, the South African game that won the Excellence for Design Award at the IGF. In this part, we look at the player actions, choices, and tension.

Desktop Dungeons: Design Analysis (Part 1)

3 Mar, 2011 in Development / Game Design / Role Playing Game Design tagged desktop dungeons / game design / qcf design by Herman Tulleken

Two Dev.Mag writers share their board game design experiences: conception, design, production, playtesting.

Board Silly (Tabletop Game Design)

16 Feb, 2011 in Development / Game Design tagged board game / flip / tabletop / tf2 tabletop by Megan Hughes